Chagrin
by The Countess of Monte Cristo
Summary: Prequel to Case Closed. This takes place directly following Hiei's departure from the House of Four Dimensions.


_A/N So if you've noticed all my Hiei/Kurama one-shots' titles begin with the letter "c." This is intentional as they are all meant to be a series or take place in the same timeline._

Kurama lie on his back staring up into the strangely shaped ceiling of the House of Four Dimensions. The sounds of the others slowly getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep did nothing to sooth the turmoil in his mind. He went over the day's events in his head, unable to stop their steady flow.

The normal aspects of his life hadn't even gone well today. First, at school he was hounded yet again by overenthusiastic admirers only to notice a demonic parasite leeching on one of them. He knew then that things did not bode well. Then he was practically threatened with violence by the biology club, only to have Kuwabara barge in and divulge his alias to his unsuspecting peers.

The fact that Yusuke had been kidnapped was indeed a system shock. He was the champion of the Dark Tournament and to be so easily captured was to show painful weakness. Kurama had worried that if these captures could subdue the strongest of them, they had little hope to thwart them.

Kurama was hurt it had taken so much convincing for Hiei to agree to accompany them. He suspected, however, that Hiei's new found camaraderie to the team was bewildering to the loner demon. He wished to avoid them for as long as he could in a vain effort to purge himself of those feelings.

Then he had discovered his school rival was one of the engineers behind the plot. It had been a surprise to know the enemy was so close at hand and had been waiting in the wings for so long. Kaitou was very intelligent, and Kurama had known it would take considerable brainpower on his part to defeat him at his own game.

Then Hiei had had his soul taken. Kurama had been equal parts furious with his bravado and sick with fear at the possibly that they might be unable to retrieve his lost soul. Hiei had come to mean a great deal to him, especially after all they had went through in the tournament. There had been numerous near misses on both their parts, and to come out of it alive and whole only deepened their bond. He had been determined to see Hiei's soul back in his body, no matter the cost.

Realizing that Genkai had been behind this ruse was not wholly surprising, but it was earth shattering to discover that a tunnel to Demon World was being forged. He knew then that dark times were approaching. He was also worried about Hiei's motivations. The demon had never hid the fact that he desired to return home, and this would provide him just the opportunity to do so…

And then, just like that, he had left as if they meant nothing to him. His casually walking out on them had hurt Kurama more than he had thought possible. The pain he felt at the abandonment was more agonizing than it should have been. Did he care so little about them?

Soon the sounds of Kuwabara snoring could be heard to Kurama's right. Sighing, Kurama turned to look over at him only to catch Kaitou glaring resentfully at him. Stifling a small smile at the grudge Kurama had no doubt exacerbated by his actions today, he turned to his other side to find Yusuke staring curiously at him.

"Something the matter, Yusuke?" Kurama asked quietly, whispering, mindful of his slumbering companions.

"I was gunna ask you the same thing." Kurama blinked at him, not failing to notice the concern in his voice.

"Four-Eyes sure has it out for you. What'd you ever do to him?" Yusuke had obviously noticed his staring daggers at him also. Kurama laughed softly.

"He's something of a school rival. It seems that I bruised his ego by defeating him so easily earlier."

Yusuke nodded, accepting that explanation as the two of them watched in amusement as Kaitou practically threw himself on the ground in a huff. Yusuke giggled at his tantrum then turned serious as he gazed back at Kurama thoughtfully.

"What about Three-Eyes?" Kurama could only blink in confusion once more.

"What about him?"

"Oh, come on, I never see one of you without the other. It's like the two of you are some sort of freaky demonic Siamese twins, and now he just up and left." Kurama could only gawk at the detective in wide eyed bemusement at his rather strange assessment before he continued. "How ya holdin' up?"

Kurama just shook his head. "I hardly need him here to preserve my well being."

Yusuke frowned at him. "Sheesh, he's rubbing off on you. Don't play coy. He's your best damn friend, and he just abandoned you…abandoned all of us."

Kurama sighed at this. "Truth be told, we had quite the time convincing him help us rescue you in the first place…"

Yusuke started at this news. "Really?"

"Yes, I tried my best to sway him, but it was Botan that eventually convinced him by bribing him with his freedom should he comply." He explained quietly.

"Damn, what's gotten into him?"

Kurama thought for a moment before he slowly began to speculate. "I imagine he's been feeling a bit conflicted since the end of the Dark Tournament. I don't think he ever thought he'd be fighting for the sake of preserving humanity. He's always hated humans, but you've shown him that that hatred may be misplaced. I do believe he has grown to care for us, his teammates, but he doesn't know what to do with the feelings that he had previously perceived as weaknesses in others. So he did what he does best, he fled. But I fear even all the speed he possesses isn't enough to help him run from himself."

Yusuke raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. "Damn, Kurama, that was deep."

Kurama merely smiled indulgently at him. "We should get some sleep, Yusuke. It's late. We've all had a trying day, and tomorrow doesn't look like it'll be much better."

He nodded and shifted to get comfortable. With his back to Kurama he whispered. "He'll come back."

"I hope so, Yusuke. I really do."


End file.
